Drew Beard
One of the best values in Scotch, Speyburn, is out with a new U.S.-only, no-age-statement release called Companion Cask. Per the website, the whisky is “a tribute to the enduring connection and rich traditions shared by Speyside and Kentucky.” To that end, Companion Cask is aged exclusively in ex-bourbon casks (reportedly from Buffalo Trace Distillery).…
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Michigan-based Bell’s Brewery claims that their Expedition Stout is one of the earliest examples of a Russian Imperial Stout in the United States. That’s an impressive feather in their cap and speaks to Bell’s role as a craft beer pioneer. Being the first at something is great until everyone else comes along and tries to…
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This fall, Compass Box whisky-lovers rejoiced in the news that the distillery had added a new addition to its permanent line-up for the first time in more than five years. With their yearly limited edition releases seeming to outnumber their core range, it was probably about time. The Story of the Spaniard (yes, that’s it’s…
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Allagash has had considerable success with Curieux, their widely available, bourbon barrel-aged beer. But starting last year, the famous Maine brewery released it’s first Scotch barrel-aged beer called Pictavia for the former moniker of Scotland. I, for one, did not know Scots were once called Picts. Anyway, Pictavia is appropriately a Scotch ale aged in Scotch…
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The annual Black Friday release of Goose Island’s Bourbon County line of barrel-aged beers grew by one this year to eight, with six of those being more or less widely available to the beer-loving masses. Last year, I reviewed the Bourbon County Brand Stout and Barleywine, so I decided to revisit these two in 2018…
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Firestone Walker is nothing if not creative with the names for their beers, especially when it comes to the much sought after Proprietor’s Vintage Series, which includes such gems as Helldorado and Sucaba (Abacus spelled backwards). Perhaps the most unique and risqué, however, is the Velvet Merkin Oatmeal Stout. What is a Velvet Merkin you…
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While Kentucky’s Heaven Hill Distillery produces its fair share of coveted top shelf bourbons, it puts out even more quality bottom shelf bottlings, many of which carry the desirable bottled-in-bond label. Not surprisingly, three of Drinkacker’s Top 10 Bourbons Under $20 are Heaven Hill juice, including the Heaven Hill “White Label,” a six-year-old bottled-in-bond that took…
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Lexington’s James E. Pepper Distilling Company is clearly sitting on a healthy stock of Indiana rye. The distillery bottles five different rye expressions, including a barrel proof and a single barrel. Almost all of those are released under the 1776 label with the outlier being Old Henry Clay Straight Rye Whiskey. Where does that name…
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Barrel Finished Rye, another addition to Woodford Reserve’s Distillery Series, briefly hit the distillery’s gift shop shelves this past spring. In the three years since Woodford began the series, this line of one-offs has highlighted some fairly straightforward experiments, like the Double Double Oaked, as well as some more unusual efforts like Frosty Four Wood.…
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It’s been six years since Founders Brewing last released Curmudgeon’s Better Half, and in that time it has become one of their most highly requested beers. This past August, the brewery finally caved to the demand and included it once again in their annual Barrel-Aged Series. So what is this fan-favorite? It’s an old ale…
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